Deloitte Cyprus
Deloitte Cyprus
“At Deloitte we believe our people, their talents and potential are the most important assets of our firm,” says Demetris Ioannides FCCA, executive chairman of Deloitte Cyprus. “This belief is consistent with the CPD strategy that we always put into effect, which focuses on the investment in our people by developing their skills and participating in their success,” he says.
Deloitte Cyprus, recently recognised as an ACCA Platinum accredited employer, has been practising in Cyprus since 1958. The firm provides a full range of financial and accounting services, including audit, business and financial advisory services, e-business services, financial consulting and investigation as well as business and human resources consulting. It has more than 300 staff members, including more than 200 professionals.
“Our CPD activities are based on strategic training and development programmes for all members of staff,” says Athos Chrysanthou FCCA and partner in charge of the ACCA trainee scheme. “For finance professionals, the programme is designed a year in advance and includes a combination of in-house training, on the job training, self learning and external courses both in Cyprus and abroad.”
At Deloitte, the Centralised Monitoring and Administration Team sets the strategic training plan. “It’s a team process to which we are fully committed,” explains Athos, “and communication is the most vital aspect of this process.” Deloitte Cyprus has ACCA, ACA and CPA qualified accountants and a partner is responsible for each group. Athos is responsible for the monitoring of the training and development of all ACCA staff. “In addition to the training partner in charge of the different qualifications, we also have a partner who is responsible for the overall learning process. The partners in charge of each designated office provide input for the planning of the training and development needs of their respective offices. Finally, the human resources department plays a valuable role in the committee teams as it administers implements and monitors all learning activities of the firm.”
“Our IT experts have designed and implemented a system to administer and monitor all CPD activities of our trainees and qualified staff,” explains Margaret Pitiris, HR senior manager at Deloitte Cyprus. “Our staff-tracking software – Winstaff – monitors work performance of all staff and keeps a detailed record of the training received as well as all CPD activities of each individual staff member.”
When identifying training needs, the skills of the Centralised Monitoring and administration Team come in to play. “Each hierarchy group is set CPD milestones that are closely monitored,” says Athos. “Using these CPD milestones, we can identify further areas of training and development required by each individual staff member, including any learning gaps that need to be filled,” he adds. In addition to identifying areas of training that need to be covered, the CPD milestones allow Deloitte Cyprus to determine promotion based on merit. “If someone has achieved all the CPD milestones for a particular level we can consider him/her for promotion. Promoted individuals are set a number of new CPD milestones to be achieved at their new hierarchal level. This goes all the way up the hierarchy, including partners who have a set of CPD milestones that they must achieve each year,” says Athos.
As part of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, all Cyprus-based staff are connected to Deloitte’s global e-learning system. “The e-learning system contains a huge number of programmes, ranging from international financial reporting standards to negotiation skills,” explains Athos. Staff can also identify additional learning areas that they wish to accomplish and complete a programme of work in the areas in which they are interested. “In addition to all required learning courses, all self-learning activities are logged into our staff tracking system WinStaff,” adds Margaret.
“The majority of Deloitte finance professionals are active in a number of organisations in Cyprus such as the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) as well as civic organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club and the Lions Club. We believe that it is important for our staff to be involved networking activities outside work. When we perform yearly staff evaluations these civic organisational activities are taken into account. We believe that staff who are actively involved in other organisations not only enrich their personal development profile but add value to our firm – it’s a big plus,” explains Athos.
Feedback from ACCA
Deloitte clearly demonstrates a strong commitment to training and developing staff. Deloitte has achieved ACCA Approved Employer - professional development status.
Commitment from the top
Deloitte’s commitment to staff learning and development starts at the top with its managing partner. Allocating responsibility to partners for the learning process and for different accountancy qualifications illustrates how important Deloitte considers staff development. The existence of a central committee team is important because it allows the firm to set strategic training plans and to contribute feedback from staff about learning activities.
Addressing individual development needs
Deloitte activity addresses the range of knowledge and skills needed by each employee and is committed to train and develop staff in all areas of technical and interpersonal skills. Deloitte has adopted a useful and pragmatic approach to ensure the development needs of all staff are addressed.
Providing development opportunities
Deloitte offers a wide range of development activities which provide valuable opportunities for staff to build on existing skills and knowledge. These demonstrate that Deloitte could meets the second principle of ACCA Approved Employer - professional development. Actively encouraging staff to learn and network with other organisations also allows staff to share ideas about developments in the profession, factors facing business in Cyprus and offers them a broader perspective of finance which they can apply at work.
Monitoring performance and development activity
Deloitte has an advanced approach to monitoring through the use of WinStaff tracking software. WinStaff also helps Deloitte to monitor staff performance and is used to supplement the performance management process. This will help Deloitte to meet principles three and four of ACCA Approved Employer - professional development.